Bhubaneswar: Around 68% of teaching positions remain vacant across 17 state public universities, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj informed the assembly on Friday. Out of 2,073 sanctioned faculty positions, 1,404 are vacant, the minister said.

Shortage of teaching staff is severely impacting the quality of education, research and extension activities, observed by a senior professor. The situation has been further exacerbated by a significant deficit in non-teaching staff, with 2,286 out of 3,174 positions unoccupied, resulting in a 72% vacancy rate.

Data presented by the minister shows only 38 professors have been employed against 298 sanctioned positions, while eight universities do not have a single permanent professor. Additionally, 453 out of 578 associate professors and 694 of 1,184 assistant professor positions remain vacant.

The Odisha State Open University in Sambalpur is yet to set up permanent faculty positions, while the newly established Odia University in Satyabadi, with 21 sanctioned posts, is yet to appoint any staff. Other new institutions such as Khallikote Unitary University in Berhampur and Vikram Dev University in Jeypore are also struggling to fill up sanctioned teaching positions.

To deal with the shortage, the govt has resorted to hiring guest faculty and engaging retired university staff to manage teaching duties. Recruitment efforts were stalled due to a Supreme Court stay order issued on May 20, 2022 in a case involving the UGC and the Odisha govt’s higher education department.

Following amendments to the Odisha Universities Amendment Act, 2020, the state govt now plans to resume faculty appointments after completing the recruitment of university vice-chancellors, a higher education department official said.